There are various styles of painting that are followed by professional artists and also by the people who have a flair for making paintings. Among all these painting styles oil painting is the most popular. Many great artists like Vincent van Gogh, Picasso, Leonardo da Vinci used to follow this style of painting. The famous painting Mona Lisa made by Leonardo da Vinci is considered to be one of the best specimens of oil painting.

 

There are various styles that can be followed to make paintings using oil paints. Following are some of the basic tips, which would help you the next time you try your hand at doing an oil painting.

• If you keep the colors on the palette in a definite order, you will be able to save considerable time for yourself because gradually you will have a good coordination and will be able to pick colors from the palette without having to look at them.

 

• In oil painting the painting is done in layers, and you should see that the amount of oil in each layer is more than its previous layer. This should be done because in oil paintings the lower layers absorb oil from the overlying layers while drying. Using less oil would thus result in cracks on the top layers of the painting.

 

• There is a large variety of oils that can be used as a medium in oil paintings. You should make your choice of oil to be used in your oil painting depending on the type of painting you desire to make. If you are interested in making a painting in which you need the lower layers to dry faster than the overlying layers you should use oil that dries fast. Linseed oil is the best option for such a kind of paintings.

 

• On the other side, that is to be taken care of in oil painting is that, whether the oil that is being used as the medium has any adverse effect on the colors being used in the paintings. For example, it is seen that using oil like linseed for lighter color will result in the colors appearing yellowish. However, in its place, if poppy oil is used the colors will not be yellowed.

 

• You should also take care to see that you do not dry your oil painting in a dark place, but rather in a place that experiences a lot of light. Drying oil paintings result in the oil used for the painting to form a layer on the painting and giving it a yellowish tinge.

 

• If, while making oil paintings, you find that the layer you have painted is not correct, you can always correct your mistake. All you need to do is use certain solvent which will remove the oil layer without damaging the painting. Alcohol is the best solvent that can be used for such purposes.

 

Oil painting is a very popular type of painting in the world today and there are many people practicing the art. These tips would definitely prove to be helpful for you to come up with great pieces of art.